A Good Other
by Sarabellum93
Summary: Soroku Yaoi HEAVY Incest. Sora and Roxas move into a new city with their older brothers Cloud & Leon. New city means new school & its run by gangs. Sora tries to keep roxas away from the drama but roxas does what he has to in order to protect the one he l
1. Twins with Something in Common

"Sora? Wake up sleepy head." I kissed my boyfriend on the nose.

"M? Ugh, five more minutes." Sora rolled over in bed and I sighed with a laugh.

"Come on, we have school." I pulled the blankets down.

"No!" Sora grumbled just before I spanked his ass. "OW! Roxas!" Sora sat up quick and I chuckled.

"Come on, let's go." I got out of bed and turned on the lights while Sora covered his eyes like a vampire.

He's really adorable, the perfect one for me. We're so alike, but only because my boyfriend, is really my twin. Yeah, my twin brother. Adding incest on top of being gay doesn't make life easier in public, but Sora and I have a bond incomparable to any other. We truly love each other, and nothing can come between us. But today, that will all be tested.

Sora and I had to switch schools cause we moved from our mom's house to our brothers. Our mom still doesn't know that Sora and I are actually dating, but she wasn't home much to begin with. Our older brothers, Leon and Cloud, they know that we're gay, but not for each other. I never worried about them telling mom about Sora and me, cause Cloud and Leon used to date each other. I don't know if they still do, but I think that Cloud got a boyfriend, who he isn't related to. I know that it sounds like our family is real fucked up, but hell, it's what we need to cope.

Leon spends most of his days at work, and Cloud is in college with a part time job. Sora and I are high school third year students, just trying to survive.

"It's cold." Sora shivered when he stepped in the shower.

"Don't be a baby." I scoffed as I stepped in. "Shit!" I was surprised to see that he was right.

"See!" Sora huddled against me.

"Just give it a sec." I shuddered as Sora's wet naked body made contact with mine.

"Roxy, I'm cold." Sora shivered again and I couldn't help the small smile that expressed all my love for him.

"I'm sorry. Can I hold you and make you warm?" I asked and he nodded as we waited for the hot water to kick in. "I love you." I rubbed my hands up and down his arms to warm him up.

"I love you too Roxy." Sora kissed my nose and I smiled.

"Come on, we have to hurry." I took Sora's hand and led him under the waters full streams. I shampooed his hair, massaging him, and rinsed him clean. I love bathing him. He's just so cute.

"Rox, my eyes." Sora rubbed his eyes and I felt bad that I got shampoo in them.

"Here." I helped him before I went in for a quick kiss on his trembling lips.

"Hehe, thanks Roxy." Sora smiled up to me as the water ran down his face. Damn, he's so beautiful. I kissed his tan cheek before I turned the water off. As much as I wanted to take advantage of the young beauty before me, we were already running a bit late.

We hurried to change, me in my khaki pants and black T with a khaki and black checkered vest. Sora wore black cargo pants and a red T shirt with his black vest over. We grabbed our backpacks, ran down the stairs, guzzled down breakfast, and walked hand in hand to school. Cloud was still asleep and I'm pretty sure that Leon was already at work, so we were able to leave in peace. Sora and I just moved in last night and we stayed up unpacking and prepping for school. Leon gave us a quick lecture and we haven't even seen Cloud yet. It's been months, nearly a year, since we spent time with our older brothers. Leon is the oldest, and he's nearly twenty three; Cloud is twenty one and Sora and I are still seventeen.

"Are we almost there?" Sora asked me, still holding my hand. I nodded. I really had no idea where we were, but I often find myself doing and saying things only to protect Sora. Our whole lives he's been more emotional and fragile. We only started dating each other a year and a half ago. Sora used to have a lot of love interests, and always in guys, but none of them treated him right. He used to cry a lot about being hurt, cheated on, and broken up with. I could only take so much of it before I realized that my protective nature was in a league of its own.

Ever since we started dating, I took it upon myself to raise him and help him in any way I can. Our mom is always working and our brothers were never involved in our lives much; on top of it all, our dad is a fail. He left us when we were little, and he told Sora and I that we were too much for him. I think we were like seven years old when it happened. He loved Leon, and Cloud, a lot. Leon was his strong and virile pride and joy, and Cloud was tough as nails emotionally; Sora and I were the two messy and hyper twins that brought too much headache, at least that's what he'd say.

It hit Sora real hard, and I can tell that whenever it comes up, when it seldom does, it bothers him a lot. I don't blame him. It'd bother me more if I cared, but I got used to it. The fact that he left all his sons makes me wonder if that's why we're all gay. In the end, I guess it doesn't matter either.

"Roxas, about last night? What are we going to do?" Sora asked as we saw the school building in the distance. Shit. I forgot that we never reached an agreement.

"I don't want to have to hide my love for you Sora." I said, squeezing his hand.

"Me either, but I don't want to be shunned or made fun of either. It hurts." Sora said solemnly and I nodded. Right then, I needed to put his feelings first.

"Alright. I guess we won't make it obvious that we're dating." I let go of Sora's hand. He stopped me before we got any closer.

"I love you Roxy." He hugged me and I smiled as I hugged him back.

"I love you too Sora." I kissed him softly before we walked side by side silently for the rest of the way. We made our way to the main office and got our schedules, disappointed to see that we only had half of our classes together.

"I have English, then Math, then P.E. and then History. After lunch I have biology and art last." Sora said and looked to me for my schedule.

"Damn. I have English then History, then Math, then P.E. I have biology and art with you too." I tried to smile to cheer him up, but it didn't work. At our last school we had all our classes together.

"We should find our lockers." Sora suggested and I nodded. Once we found them, we walked into English, curious and nervous to see what this new school would be like.

"You must be the new students." A girl with a soft voice and pink bow in her braid asked us. She was also wearing a pink dress, and I could tell that she was the most stereotypical English teacher who's all about feelings. Sora is going to love her.

"I'm Sora. This is Roxas." Sora introduced us. I don't talk as much as he does in public.

"Are you two twins?" She asked and Sora nodded.

"Wonderful. Well, there are two empty seats there and there. Go ahead and get seated so we can continue."

Sora and I listened and we sat next to each other as I observed the class.

For the most part, the other students were all quiet and bored, and I spent the entire period doodling.

"Alright, I'll see you at lunch at our lockers, ok?" I asked and Sora nodded nervously. I could tell that he was scared. "Hey, it'll be ok." I said and I went in for a kiss, but he turned around and walked off. I sighed. Great, not only did I agree to not show our love for each other liked I wanted to, but I tried to steal just one simple kiss and now he's mad at me. Lucky me.

"Yo, new kid." Some sandy blonde came up to me.

"Roxas." I corrected him.

"I'm Hayner. This is Pence and Olette. Where are you from?" He asked and I shrugged.

"Radiant Garden."

"Wow, that sure is far from Twilight Town." Olette said and I nodded.

"Well welcome to our school. There are some things we should warn you about though, for your own safety."

"Okkkaaayy." I was a bit suspicious, but Pence and Olette looked harmless. I couldn't say the same for Hayner.

"There are two big gangs in this school. I know you might think that staying neutral is best, but it'll only get you pounded by both. There are the bad guys: Seifer, Rai, Fujin, and his group. Then, there are the good guys, like us." Hayner pointed to himself, Pence, and Olette.

"You're in a gang?" I asked Olette and she shrugged.

"I know my side." She smiled innocently and I nodded.

"So why do you care?" I asked, knowing that they were probably just trying to recruit me.

"Cause, Seifer will be giving you the same offer any minute. Just know that if you join him, you'll be the one getting suspended."

"And why's that?" I raised an eyebrow and Hayner smirked.

"Cause he's the ass who starts the fights. We just finish them." Hayner crossed his arms.

"Well I'm not interested. Keep your petty drama to yourself." I began to walk away but Hayner stopped me.

"If you don't choose his side, he'll see you as an enemy. There is no neutral here. If you're not going to join him, you might as well join us to avoid getting your ass kicked." Hayner explained and I sighed.

"Thanks for the tip." I rolled my eyes and continued to my next class.

I walked into History, wondering who this 'Seifer' guy is and what he could possibly want with me. I didn't do gangs. I got into a couple fights at my old school, but Sora hated it, and he said that it scared him, so I promised him that I would keep our last two years of high school drama and fight free. The last thing I needed is some stupid gang. And it's high school, how serious can it get?

I was walking back to my locker before I had to go to Math, since I wanted to see if I could catch Sora before he had P.E. I felt bad that I tried to kiss him, since he wants to keep us a secret. It's just so hard. I love him, why should I have to hide it? Whatever.

He wasn't there. Damn, he probably rushed off to get changed before anyone else was there. I switched books at my locker, shocked to find myself surrounded when I closed it.

"You're the new kid." Some tall light blonde boy asked me with five other people behind him.

"And you are?"

"Seifer. I know you've heard of me so listen and listen good. I have a gang and we don't mess around. This here is Rai, Fujin, and other people you could be lucky enough to call friends. We're all experienced fighters and we don't mess around when it comes to running this school. OUR school. So if you're going to last more than a week here, I suggest you pick your sides wisely."

"I don't have sides." I tried to leave but he wouldn't let me.

"Maybe you didn't hear me. I said, we don't mess around. If you don't pick OUR side, then you're an enemy. So I suggest you make up your mind, quick."

"What makes your side better?" I asked, not at all considering it, but I was curious to hear his answer.

"Cause Hayner and his posse of losers are shit. They're all twigs compared to my gang. Besides, if it were up to them, this school would have no structure." Seifer grinned.

"Structure?" I asked and he nodded.

"His group allows nerds to eat anywhere, lets the thespians occupy the Quad, MY Quad, and most importantly, the most gross and disgusting thing about him: he supports homosexuality." Seifer glared at me and right away I knew which side I'd prefer.

"I'm guessing you don't." I said casually.

"Hell no! Those fags need to get the hell out of My school." Thankfully the bell rang and I successfully broke free.

"Well thanks for the info." I walked away.

"You have till the end of the day to pick your sides. If you don't, we'll pick for you: the hospital." Seifer called after me and I sighed him away. I didn't take threats well, but it was my love for Sora that calmed me.

Math went by slowly and painfully, and once it was over, I was glad that I had P.E to escape the boring halls and classrooms.

Before I went to P.E, I went to empty my backpack and try once more to find Sora. Success!

I saw Sora at his locker and ran up to him.

"Hey, look, about earlier, I'm sorry that I tried to, you know." I said, trying to be discrete.

"It's ok. I thought about it and, well, I don't want to have to hide it Rox. I love you. I'm not ashamed of that." Sora smiled up at me and I smiled down at him.

"I love you too Sora." I said happily and Sora went on his tip toes right before he puckered up to me. I was about to complete the kiss when I saw Seifer entering the hall. "Sora, no!" I pushed him back and he fell on his ass.

"Roxy?" he asked me, his voice weak and hurt. Shit. I crushed his heart by rejecting his kiss. He takes everything personal, and he can be pretty emotional.

"Sora," I bent down to help him up, but he swatted my hand away and ran off.

"So, the little brunette is one of them." My heart pounded as Seifer walked up to me.

"Don't you dare think about it!" I balled my fists.

"What are you going to do? Fight me?" Seifer rolled up his sleeves.

"He's not worth your time." I answered and Seifer shook his head.

"You don't get it do you? He's one of them. And I'm beginning to think that you are too. After all, he was trying to kiss you." Seifer crossed his arms and I gulped.

"Do I look gay to you?" I asked, trying to look intimidating.

"Are you?" Seifer asked me and I scoffed.

"I pushed him on his ass. Does that make me gay for rejecting him?"

"Maybe you already have a boyfriend." Seifer grew suspicious.

"Don't insult me." I pushed him out of my way.

"I like your spirit. You'd be a good member." Seifer said but I continued walking to P.E. I wanted to find Sora, but that would have to wait. Fuck I felt like shit. Not even a day here and I already have enemies and a fight with my best friend, my boyfriend, my twin.

P.E was a dead waste of time and right when I got out, I rushed to my locker to try to find Sora. I felt so guilty for what I did, but I was only trying to protect him from Seifer. Now that it was lunch, I should have time to clarify.

"Sora?" I looked around his locker, but he wasn't there. He should have gotten there before me, since his class is much closer than where I ran from, but nothing. I waited for five whole, long, dragging minutes before I got worried. He never responded to any of my texts or answered any of my calls.

I was starting to panic when I saw Seifer coming out of a bathroom with two tall guys behind him, all of them laughing. Then, when he made eye contact with me, he smirked.

I had that weird feeling in my gut that something was wrong, so I ran inside.

Right away, I heard sniffling. I went to the far stall and peeked under to see a body huddling.

"Sora!" I pushed the unlocked stall open and ran to his side. "Sora?!" I pulled his body up in my arms as he cried.

"Roxy." He shuddered and I held him tight.

"What did they do?" I asked, my heart racing with fear and adrenaline.

"Hurts." Sora looked up to me. Shit. He had a black eye.

"Fuck." I put my hand to the side of his face and he cringed. "Are you ok?" I asked and he nodded slowly.

"Hurts." He moved his hand over his…parts…and I shook my head.

"Those dirty bastards!"

"Roxy….why?" Sora asked, his eyes full of innocent terror. How dare they hurt someone so pure and innocent?

"They saw you trying to kiss me." I said quietly, unable to look him in the eye.

"Is that why you pushed me?" Sora blinked slowly and I nodded.

"I didn't want them to hurt you. I thought if I could stop the kiss, then maybe they wouldn't notice." I sighed. I failed.

"They called me a dirty fag." Sora sniffled and I grew angry. Livid.

"They're assholes and they're going to pay."

"Please don't." Sora begged and I shook my head.

"I'm not going to let them get away with hurting you."

"I just want to go home." Sora said and I nodded.

"Just two more classes. Think you can do it?" I asked and Sora nodded.

"We'll be together, right Roxy?" Sora wiped his own tears and I kissed his cheek.

"Yeah baby. We have the next two classes together." I helped him stand, careful of his hurt legs.

"Mph." Sora whined in pain as he fixed his crotch.

"Did they kick you?" I asked and he nodded.

"They didn't say why at first. Once I was huddled, they hit my face and chest." Sora put his hands over his shirt. "They called me fag and dirty, and told me to die." Sora looked really troubled. He always takes those things so seriously.

"Ignore them. They're just dickfaces." I comforted Sora.

"Whoa, is he ok?" Hayner asked as Sora and I exited the bathroom and walked into him.

"Seifer." I hissed and he shook his head.

"I'm real sorry to hear that." Olette sympathized.

"Olette, get him some ice." Hayner said and Sora blushed.

"You don't have to." Sora said quietly.

"Don't worry." Hayner said and Olette rushed off.

"Why are you helping us?" I asked and Hayner shrugged as he led us outside to his usual spot, a large tree with a bench and table under it. Overall it's a large school with tons of space but few students, so there are plenty of places to spend lunch.

"Because, you two just got here. You shouldn't have to worry about this shit so soon." Hayner explained as Olette came up to us with ice in her hand.

"Here you go." She handed it to Sora, who thanked her.

"So, why did he attack you?" Pence asked and Sora looked to me. I could tell that he was too embarrassed to say.

"Gay." I said and Hayner nodded.

"Yeah, they're a bunch of homophobes."

"You guys aren't?" Sora asked and Hayner shook his head.

"We don't limit love to gender, even though most of us are straight." Hayner shrugged and I nodded.

"That's good."

"Yeah, but we aren't crazy like the Sinclair twins." Hayner scoffed and I could only wonder what that meant.

"Sinclair twins?" I asked and Pence leaned in real close as he whispered.

"Not only are they gay, but they're dating each other! Real twins!" Pence's eyes widened and I rolled mine.

"So?"

"So, that's just creepy and gross. Being gay is one thing. Incest, no thanks." Hayner joked and Sora gulped.

"Where can we find these twins?" I asked and Hayner laughed, until he realized that I wasn't joking.

"You serious?" he asked and I nodded. "Well, they don't talk to anyone but each other."

"That wasn't my question." I said and he sighed.

"Rox, they're freaks, outcasts."

"Which side are they on?" I asked and he shrugged.

"There are really five groups here at this school: there's Seifer and his group; there's me and my group. Then there are the people that neither group wants: the useless. They're the nerds and geeks that would just be baggage to both but my group will at least defend them if Seifer's group picks on them. And then, there's the Sinclair twins. They're kind of meshed with the last group though, the organization."

"Organization?" I asked and Hayner shrugged.

"It's a group of twelve I think, and they're very picky about who they hang around. I believe only one of the twins is actually affiliated with the organization, but no one messes with them cause there are twelve total and they are very close to each other."

"Close?" I could only wonder what that meant. What is with all these cliques? This school is so weird!

"We try to protect our own, just as Seifer does. But the organization, they're like a cult. It's weird, but I guess that's the protection that the Sinclair twins need." Hayner shrugged and I nodded, beginning to understand.

"And where can I find the twins?" I asked and Hayner shook his head.

"You don't want to."

"Where?" I asked again and he sighed.

"They're on the other side of the hill." Hayner pointed out at a grassy field and a large tree at the top.

"Come on." I said to Sora, who handed Olette back the ice pack and thanked her.

"You're going to try to talk to them? Why?" Hayner asked and I shrugged.

"I want to know which side is best for my twin and me." I said just as Sora and I walked beyond speaking distance.

"Roxy, do we really have to choose sides?" Sora asked and I could tell that he was worried.

"I don't think we have a choice. If we don't, they'll choose for us." I sighed as we neared the top of the hill where the large tree was. Underneath sat two light skinned redheads, holding hands.

"Are you two the Sinclair twins?" I asked and one with a long straight ponytail sat up.

"Who wants to know?"

"Twins who have something in common." I said, looking at Sora.

"What might that be?" He asked and I took Sora's hand.

"We're dating."

"You two are twins?" The other redhead, leaning casually against the tree, asked.

I nodded. "Imagine I was a brunette." I said and they nodded. That was the only main difference between Sora and I.

"So you're twins who are dating each other?" the first asked and we each nodded.

"Prove it." Said the other redhead with wild hair that spiked out behind him.

I shrugged and pulled Sora into a long make-out kiss. I know that he hates forced kisses, but he loved the tongue, cause his hands fell on my shoulders the way they always do when he's getting aroused.

"I'm a believer." The first redhead said, his long ponytail unable to fit the shorter strands near his chin.

"I'm Roxas, this is Sora." I said and they each stood up.

"I'm Reno. This is Axel, or Axe." Reno said and we nodded.

"What brings you two here?" Axel asked and Sora explained how we moved.

"Looks like you already had your first run in." Reno walked up to Sora and pushed his bangs out of the way of his black eye.

"How do we avoid it?" I asked, willing to do anything to protect my Sora.

"I don't know." Reno shrugged, but I only scoffed.

"Well how do you two avoid it?" I crossed my arms.

"It's not like you sign a form and become untouchable. We had our fights, our black eyes. You just have to fight back." Reno said and I nodded.

"No, Roxy, we said no fighting." Sora tugged on my hand.

"Well that was before they started targeting us." I reasoned.

"Isn't there any way that we could join your side?" Sora pleaded, probably trying to avoid any fights that he knew I would easily get involved in.

"We don't have a side. There are really only two sides. There's Seifer, and there's Hayner. The only ones who aren't in those groups are people that no side wants." Axel explained.

"What about the Organization?" I asked and Axel's eyes shifted away.

"What do you know about them?" He asked and I gulped. How far was I willing to go to get information?

"They're a very close group." I said and Axel nodded.

"That's all you need to know." He said, but I shook my head.

"I know that's the side that you two are protected by. Tell me why my twin and I don't deserve to be protected as well?" I asked and Reno put his hands up in defense.

"It's not that simple. I'm not even a part of the organization."

"But he is." I nodded at Axel.

"Your point?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

I rolled my eye, having had enough of the bull shit.

"Come on, Sora." I took my twins hands and started walking away.

"Where are we going?" Sora asked and I huffed loudly.

"Somewhere away from all these dumbasses!" I was getting so sick and tired of everyone taking the social stupidity of this school so seriously. Come on, its high school, not the mafia!

"Rox, I don't want to go to school here." Sora said as we returned to our lockers to waste the last few minutes before class.

"What a coincidence, cause we don't want you here." A voice said and I turned around with rage to see Seifer.

"I'll give you a three second head start to get your sorry ass as far from me as you can." I was already panting from adrenaline.

"Oh I wouldn't make threats. See, if you fight me, that still leaves three of my men to beat up that faggot of a loser behind you." Seifer grinned and I took Sora's hand. I wanted him to run, but even if he managed to get away by some miracle, it'd only be a matter of time before this all catches up. I gulped, unsure what to do.

"Is there a problem here?" a familiar voice said and when I saw two redheads standing beside me, I sighed in relief.

"Oh, so now you're forming an army of fags. Lovely. I'll catch you two later, and you!" Seifer pointed to Sora with a grin that made me want to kill him. "I may have a use for you after all." He chuckled and left with his men.

"You little!" I reached out but Sora stopped me.

"Rox please." Sora tugged on my arm as I sighed my frustrations away as best I could.

"Thanks." I muttered to the twins, not happy about owing them a thank you after our last run in, but they did save my ass.

"We talked, and we'll see what we can do." Axel said, but the vagueness of everything he said was starting to bother me.

"What does that even mean?" I wanted real, straightforward answers.

"It means that we'll do what we can to help." Reno shrugged when the bell went off.

"Thanks." I said again, not knowing how much I really meant that one.

"What do you two have next?" Reno asked me and I looked to Sora.

"We have biology, and then art." Sora said and Axel nodded.

"We have biology next too." Axel said and I looked around me. This school is shit. Seriously, who cares this much about stupid gangs?

"Let's go." Reno took Axel's hand, so I took Sora's as we walked to class.

"You feeling better?" Olette asked Sora as we walked by her biology station. She was with Hayner Pence.  
"Yes, thank you." Sora smiled for her and she smiled back. Everyone loves Sora, because he's got those gorgeous blue eyes that match his shining smile and his positive attitude.

"You two ok?" Hayner asked, looking at how my hand was entangled with Sora's.

"Yep." I remained short as I followed Reno and Axel to their table at the back.

Hayner kept whispering to Pence as they stared at Sora and I, since we were sitting with the Sinclair twins, but I didn't give a fuck. Part of me wanted them to hurry up and figure it out all so we could move on already. Yes, I'm dating my twin; those who don't like it can go fuck themselves. After biology, Sora and I went to art with Olette, who kept Sora happy and distracted while I watched the clock slowly move towards the end of the school day.

"Anyway, they have good milkshakes, but why order those when their malts are so much better?" Olette asked and Sora shrugged.

"I'll have to try both." Sora smiled, and for the first time since this shitty day started, I smiled at him.

"Come on, let's go home." I said and Sora nodded.

"Bye Olette! Tell Hayner and Pence that we say bye too. See you tomorrow." Sora waved with one hand before I took the other. We quickly made for the school gate and started our rush to get home.

"Rox, slow down." Sora said after I had pulled him in the direction of home.

"Not till we're safe." I answered. If Seifer caught us out here, we'd be dead.

"Roxy it hurts." Sora said so I immediately stopped.

"What does?" I asked, looking at him, looking around, looking paranoid.

"Um, here." Sora fixed his junk and I remembered how Seifer had hit him there.

"Shit, sorry, I forgot. Come on." I turned around and squatted, allowing him to get on my back.

"Thanks Roxy." Sora put his arms around my neck as I piggy backed my twin the rest of the way home.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Wow, okay here is the first (and very long) chapter to my new story. I wanted to cut it shorter, but couldn't find an appropriate place. I was very reluctant to post this at first, some days I like this story, other days I don't, but I figured might as well and see where it goes lol. Hope you all enjoy and follow/fav/comment!

 **Living Legacy, Silent Sacrifice, Sarabellum**


	2. Sacrifice is an Extension of Love

"Hey." Cloud said dryly when I opened the front door after I had set Sora down.

"Hey." I answered back dryly.

"How was school?" Cloud asked in that voice that said that he didn't care, but asked just to ask.

"Awful." I huffed as I walked to the kitchen to get Sora some ice. "Sit on the couch." I told Sora, so he did. He listens to pretty much anything I say, and has been since we were little.

"Welcome back." Leon said, coming downstairs.

"Gee thanks." I scoffed.

"What's eating you?" Cloud asked but I ignored him.

"Here, move your hair." I told Sora, who fixed his bangs behind his ear. I put the ice pack on his eye as he held it there.

"What happened?" Leon asked, sounding concerned.

"First fight already?" Cloud asked but I didn't know how to answer.

"Apparently our school is full of homophobes." I stood up in front of Sora, looking into his one free eye, wanting so badly to take away his pain.

"You two weren't being stupid, were you?" Leon sighed so I got defensive?

"Stupid?!" I asked, completely clueless as to why he'd call us that.

"If you two are going to advertise the fact that you're gay, you better get used to the black eyes." Leon shook his head, almost laughing. Why was he laughing?

"So what, did you two get them too?" I asked with my attitude.

"Nope." Leon smiled. "Cloud got a couple."

"Shut up." Cloud answered back.

"How did you two avoid it then?" I asked, wanting to know how and why everyone else knew but Sora and I.

Leon smiled. "Who wants to mess with this?" Leon flexed his arms and I rolled my eyes. He had a point. Leon is nearly pure muscle. Still, I knew how to hold my own, I mean I used to try to fight him growing up so I'm used to fighting people twice my size.

"Sora won't let me fight." I answered back.

"It's dangerous!" Sora got into the discussion.

"It's necessary!" I argued back.

"You'll get your ass kicked." Cloud butted in, so I rolled up my sleeves.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Cloud stood up, taller and stronger than he looked whilst sitting down.

"Hey, cut it out." Leon stood up as well and we all sighed, embracing the fresh silence. I knew they were right though. Cloud is strong, but Leon is pretty much a beast and if anyone was stupid enough to try and fight him, well, they deserved whatever injuries he gave them.

"I don't know what to do anymore." I rolled my eyes, fed up. "I'm not going back to that school." I sat down next to Sora.

"Yes you are." Leon said and I kicked the coffee table in front of me.

"No I'm not!" I was getting so frustrated by all this drama bull shit.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Leon shouted and I crossed my arms as I sulked in the corner of the couch.

"Where else are you going to go?" Cloud asked.

"I don't care." I mumbled.

"Look, from now on, just avoid the people who don't like you." Leon said.

"That's half the school!" I yelled.

"Then start doing some push-ups." Cloud chimed in and I stood up.

"Where are you going?" Leon asked as I headed up stairs.

"Away." I said as I walked into my room and slammed the door. I fell on the bed on my face, so sick of all this pointless drama.

"Rox? You ok?" Sora walked in and sat beside me.

"They don't get it Sora. No one does. Why can't we just be left alone?" I rolled onto my back.

Sora shrugged. "I don't know."

"Sora, let's go." Cloud came into our room.

"Where?" Sora asked.

"To get dinner." Cloud said, so Sora nodded. Cloud left and Sora grabbed a jacket.

"It'll all be alright." Sora smiled, even through his swollen eye.

"Thanks." I smiled at him. He leaned down and kissed me gently before he ran downstairs. Even with his black eye, he managed to smile, because he knew I needed it. He's so sweet and caring like that. He's so perfect and all I wanted was to protect him. Why wouldn't he let me protect him?

I was enjoying the quiet calm when Leon walked in. He stood leaning against the doorway.

"You know that you're going to have to fight, even if Sora doesn't want you to." Leon said and I sat up.

"He won't like it."

"How else are you going to get those punks to leave you alone?" Leon brought up a good point.

"You're ok with me fighting?" I asked; Leon shrugged and sat next to me on my bed.

"I can't really say yes, but I know from experience that it might help get those assholes off your back." Leon shrugged and I nodded.

"I just want Sora to be ok. He's so easily hurt." I sighed.

"Yeah, Cloud was like that too, but he wouldn't show it." Leon said and I could see how Cloud is like that. Leon is tough on the inside, so he looks tough on the outside too. As for Cloud, I think he grew up wanting to be like Leon so badly after seeing how much our dad loved him. So Cloud is mostly tough on the outside, but not so much on the inside, though he hides it well.

"Leon? Was it harder once you two started dating?" I asked, not sure if I was crossing some line. For all I knew, they could have still been dating, or broken up, or who knows what else.

Leon sighed and put his hands together under his chin. "Yeah. Since I was older, Cloud got most of the shit from the kids in my grade. I did everything I could to protect him."

"But?" I could tell that there was more.

"But it wasn't enough, and Cloud couldn't take it anymore." Leon shrugged.

"So you two…?" I wanted to know, but I could tell that it was a potentially awkward topic.

"We broke up, because Cloud was getting sick of all the drama and pain."

"Did it get better once you two broke up?" I asked in fear. My heart was racing. Was I actually considering that option?

"A little. Cloud got a girlfriend, to try to show others that he wasn't really gay or in love with me. Once he and Tifa started dating, things nearly disappeared." Leon said and I nodded with a frown. Was I willing to let Sora go to someone else? No. I couldn't. I couldn't ever watch someone else love Sora. He's mine. Who else knows him the way I do?

"That's awful." I whispered.

"Why?" Leon asked quietly.

"Because it must have hurt you so badly." I looked into Leon's eyes. Leon looked away. Yeah, it really must have hurt if he can't even look at me.

"Well, it was necessary." Leon cleared his throat, but I shook my head.

"Do you still love him? As more than a brother?" I asked and he nodded.

"Always."

"Does he still love you?" I wanted to know if Cloud really loved his girlfriend, or if he was still clinging to the only normality in his life.

"I'd like to think so." Leon chuckled, but I could tell that he only did so in nervousness.

"I'm sorry." I rested my head on Leon's shoulder.

"It's ok." Leon rubbed my arm. I couldn't describe it, or explain it, but I had this tugging on my heart that brought water to my eyes.

"That's not fair." I sniffled. Maybe it was because I feared the same fate for Sora and I, or maybe it was just another reason why I didn't want to live here anymore, but I just couldn't imagine the emotional pain that Cloud put Leon through. I know I fight with Leon all the time, but I knew that he's the kind of brother that would die for me, Sora, or Cloud. He's so strong and caring, and the idea of Cloud dumping him just didn't seem right. I'll never love anyone like I love Sora, and I love the way that Sora loves me back because its everything I need. At the same time, I know that Leon would make such a great partner. He's a bit strict but he's wise and mature and caring. He's too grown up for my laidback style, but he's a catch that Cloud shouldn't have let get away.

"It's ok." Leon repeated, but I shook my head, sitting up with impatient frustration.

"But you loved him!" I argued and Leon nodded.

"I still do, but if me loving him is only going to hurt him, then staying with him would only reflect my selfish desires."

"It's not selfish, it's love!" I tried to explain.

"Love would never compromise the safety of its target." Leon said and I had to nod since it made sense.

"It just seems so sad." I wiped my eyes and he sighed.

"It wasn't easy. There were a lot of times when I thought I could actually hate him, but in the end, I love him enough to want him happy. I'm not going to be the cause of his pain." Leon shrugged and I sighed.

"I can't do that." I admitted.

"You and Sora?" Leon asked and I nodded. We never really told Cloud or Leon that we were dating, but I knew that it wouldn't be that much of a shocker.

"It's been almost a couple years already, but when I saw him lying on the ground like that, I just wanted to kill everything." I fisted my hands.

"Breaking up with Sora won't stop that feeling. Just because Cloud dumped me and got a girlfriend didn't mean that I stopped being so protective. Most people left him alone once he had a girl, but that didn't make it any easier for me."

"So, what did you do?" I asked, and when Leon shook his head, I could tell that he was going to share something he didn't want to admit.

"I got a girlfriend too."

"Do you love her?" I asked and he nodded with a small shrug.

"She's a sweet, kind, strong, beautiful woman."

"But she's not Cloud." I finished for him and he nodded.

"If you love someone as much as you claim, be willing to back it up." Leon patted my back.

"So you're saying that if I love Sora, then I should let him go?"

Leon shook his head. "That may not be the answer for you two. If it is, then think about it. If it isn't, remember that sacrifice is an extension of love."

I nodded. "I don't want to lose him. I can't let him go."

Leon nodded. "It's not an easy decision to make. If you're not willing to let him go, then be willing to do whatever it takes to hold on." Leon said and I nodded.

"Thanks." I smiled and Leon stood up.

"Sure. Now let's get the table ready, they'll be back soon."

Leon and I went back downstairs and prepared the table for when Sora and Cloud returned.

"We're home." Sora shouted as he came through the front door with the bag of Chinese take-out.

"Sora!" I rushed to him, took his face in my hands, and smashed my lips into his. When I pulled back, he blushed.

"What was that for?" he asked and I shrugged.

"I just missed you." I smiled and he did too.

"I missed you too Roxy." Sora put the food down on the table.

"Well if you two are done missing each other, I'd like to eat." Cloud said and for some reason, I got angry.

"Don't be jealous just because Sora and I are willing to make it work." I snapped and Leon stared at me in shock. Cloud's eyes went wide.

"Excuse me?" Cloud asked and I gulped. Leon stood between us and tried to solve it.

"Just drop it." He said, but Cloud shook his head.

"Whatever." Cloud turned around and went upstairs, slamming his door which made Leon sigh.

"I'm sorry." I said, feeling so guilty for what had just happened.

"It's alright. You two eat, then do your homework, alright?" Leon pointed a stiff finger and Sora and I.

"We will." Sora said as Leon went after Cloud.

It was quiet while Sora and I ate, neither of us in a talking mood.

"Rox?" Sora asked, so I looked up from my plate.

"Yeah?"

"You…you're not going to dump me, are you?" Sora asked with his non-black eye that looked scared and hurt. I couldn't shake my head quick enough.

"No, I couldn't even think of it." I answered, which made him smile.

"Good."

"Why would you ask?"

"Cause of what happened with Cloud and Leon. I saw a picture of Cloud with a girl in Cloud's wallet when I went to pay for the food and I know that Leon really took care of him. I don't want you to stop taking care of me." Sora didn't look me in the eye, so I took his hand.

"I wouldn't dream of it. To be honest, I was scared that you'd want to dump me, to avoid Seifer." I said, but Sora shook his head.

"I'd rather get black eyes and have you, than not have either." Sora smiled and I couldn't control my smile.

"Sora you are just too perfect! I wish I knew why you love me, but I won't question. I'll just do everything I can to be the best boyfriend for you, ok?" I asked and Sora blushed.

"Rox, you know that,"

Sora started, but was interrupted.

"What the fuck Leon!?" We heard Cloud yell and we soon heard him running down the stairs.

"Cloud?" I called his name as he entered the kitchen, but he ignored me, grabbed his helmet and the keys to his motorcycle, and ran out the front door.

"Cloud wait!" Leon came down, but it was too late.

"Everything ok?" I asked just before the three of us in the kitchen heard the roar of Cloud's motorcycle peeling away from the curb.

"I don't know." Leon shook his head.

"I'm sorry." I apologized again, but Leon smiled poorly.

"Not your fault. Go do your homework." He said so Sora and I went upstairs in our room.

"Roxy, what'd you get for number thirteen?" Sora asked and I double checked my homework.

"I got three hundred and fifty eight." I said, not even sure if I punched the numbers right in the calculator.

"Good, me too." Sora copied down my answer with my steps that led up to it and I laughed.

"You're so cute." I kissed his temple as we laid on our stomachs, doing our homework on the bed.

"You're so sweet Rox." Sora put his hand over mine and squeezed it.

"I love you Sora." I rolled on my back and lifted him onto my stomach.

"I love you too Roxas." Sora used my chest as a pillow as I intertwined our legs.

"How do you feel?" I asked, moving my hand slowly over his crotch.

"Still sore." He said and I sighed.

"I'm going to fight him Sora." I said, and as I predicted, Sora sat up out of my arms.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am." I sat up too.

"Roxas, why?" Sora begged for an answer.

"Because they won't leave us alone unless I prove to them that we aren't going to put up with it." I explained for what felt like the hundredth time.

"What if it just makes things worse?" Sora looked away and I nearly laughed.

"How can it get worse?"

"I don't know but it can, ok?" Sora sounded upset.

"Sora, come on, we're stronger than this. I'm not going to let some punk ruin my relationship with my true love." I took his hand, but he sighed and pulled his hand free.

"I'm not going to be a part of the fighting." He said and I groaned in annoyance.

"Seriously? What else am I supposed to do?" I asked in frustrated.

"Ignore them." Sora pleaded but I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah and look where that got you."

"You know that I don't support meaningless violence."

"It's not meaningless Sora, I'm trying to protect you!" I shouted, forgetting that Sora hates being yelled at.

"Stop shouting." He put his hands over his ears.

"I'm sorry." I reached for his hand, but he stood up and aimed for the door. "Sora, Sora stop!" I said, but he left the room. I sighed and kicked the books off the bed. I did not expect this day to go this bad.

Sora didn't come back upstairs, I didn't hear Cloud come back home, and I didn't have the energy to go looking for either.

I managed to finish most of my homework, and as an apology present, I did Sora's homework too, laying it out on our desk.

I had just started the shower and was about to undress when Sora came into our room, hours after our fight. He didn't say a word, so I didn't say a word. Our bathroom is within our room, so I went inside it and shut the door. I wanted so badly to just be over all this, but I felt like I was just waiting for him to understand what was really happening to us. Sora is usually so positive and I think that it sometimes prohibits him from seeing how bad some things really are.

I had just taken off everything but my boxers when Sora opened the door and took off his shirt. We always shower together, not for any reason other than to save hot water and out of habit.

I stepped into the tub and started rinsing my hair and when I opened my eyes to see Sora in the tub as well, I gasped. He had bruises on his stomach, and right above his dick.

"You ok?" I asked and he nodded. "I'm sorry." I said and he nodded, his eyes watering. "Come here." I said, opening my arms as he stepped into them. I held him tightly and rubbed his freshly wet skin, trying to be gentle yet firm.

"I'm sorry." He said, but I shook my head.

"You have no reason to be." I inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly. I grew so angry at just the sight of what stained his body.

"You love me, right?" Sora looked up with scared eyes.

"I love you so much Sora." I said before it went quiet. "Sora?"

"Yes Roxy?" Sora remained in my embrace as I sighed.

"I'm going to fight him, and nothing you say will stop me. I know you don't want me involved in pointless violence, but I have to show him that we aren't going to put up with the bullying. If I have to join his gang to get you immunity, then I will." I said, deciding to just be straightforward.

"Please don't get hurt." Sora shivered.

"I won't." I squeezed him tightly as we finished our shower. Once we were dressed and ready for bed, Leon came in.

"How are you two doing?" Leon asked, so I took Sora's hand and squeezed it.

"We're doing better." I smiled.

"Is Cloud home yet?" Sora asked, but Leon shook his head.

"No."

"Leon, are you ok?" I asked, hating how he sighed.

"Yeah. Get some sleep." Leon stood up and turned off our bedroom light as he left.

Sora fell asleep quickly, but I couldn't sleep knowing that I was going to try to fight Seifer to show him my skills. My plan was to win a fight with him or maybe even one of his buddies and impress him and get close enough to him to save Sora's ass.

I was getting scared at just the idea of it all and craved water, so I went downstairs to get a drink. On my way back upstairs, I heard faint talking outside of Leon's door. Sometime after Sora fell asleep, Cloud must have returned, because I heard him and Leon arguing as I stood outside the door.

"I didn't bring it up randomly, Sora and Roxas are going through similar problems." Leon said defensively.

"What the fuck ever Leon. I don't want to talk about it." Cloud grunted.

"Who said that I wanted to talk about it? You're the one who's making a big deal over nothing." Leon scoffed.

"I don't like being reminded of all the shit I went through because of you!" Cloud yelled and it went silent. I could hear myself panting, nervous for Leon. That wasn't easy to hear.

"Because of me? Cloud, Cloud I love you." Leon said as I bit my lip to keep quiet.

"I loved you too Leon, till I was the only one suffering." Cloud complained.

"You don't think that it hurt me to see you in pain, knowing I was to blame? I did everything I could to help you Cloud, everything. That was then. This is now. I still love you. No one is going to hurt you anymore." Leon said and I heard small movement.

"L-Leon?" I heard Cloud's voice go weak before I heard faint sniffles.

"I love you Cloud." Leon repeated.

"I, I," I barely heard Cloud utter before I was about to return to my room when I heard Cloud continue. "I can't ignore the past," I could sense someone moving towards the door, so I quickly tip-toed back to my bedroom and shut the door before I snuck into bed, next to Sora. I held him with all that I had. Like hell would I ever let a love as true as this slip away.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I was hoping to make my chapters shorter but I keep writing long scenes by accident lol. Thank you for everyone following/favouriting! Don't forget to check out my Akuroku Killing Loneliness, which is constantly being updated!

 **Reader Response:**

The Dark Flair: Thank you so much! I really appreciate your review, it means so much to me! You inspire me to continue this bold plot I have. I was so nervous about posting this story I have postponed for nearly a YEAR because I was afraid I'd get a bunch of negative comments about (t)wincest being gross, too dramatic, whatever, but I'm glad that you understand and appreciate my goal of making it seem like a forced, accepted idea. Thanks again! -Sarabellum

Thank you all again!

 **Living Legacy, Silent Sacrifice, Sarabellum**


	3. Strategy is Key

The next day, we went back to school and I warned Sora not to leave my sight unless he was in a class that I wasn't. I told him to wait inside each class for me to meet him and escort him safely to his next class. By the third period, I realized we got lucky and for whatever reason, Seifer didn't shower up. Maybe he was lying low after what he did to Sora, maybe it was a surprise of good luck, but whatever the reason, I was grateful. When school ended, Sora and I walked home as I tried to think about what tomorrow would look like, assuming Seifer wouldn't be absent again.

"What if he transferred schools?" Sora sounded like he wanted to be hopeful, but I couldn't be so naïve.

"It wouldn't be that easy." I shook my head.

"But what if he did?" Sora insisted as I sighed loudly.

"He didn't Sora, so let's stop dreaming and start planning." I scolded, not really in the mood for his ignorance.

"Kay," Sora shrunk back within himself as I mentally kicked myself for hurting his feeling.

"Sora," I stopped walking as we waited for the traffic lights to signal that it was safe. "I'm sorry I was so harsh. I just want to be prepared. I know it isn't over, and I want to find a solution to this, to protect you."

"I know Roxy," Sora nodded.

"It will get easier, I promise." I made one of my many blind promises that tend to help get Sora through our rough experiences.

When we got home, Cloud was still at school and Leon was most likely at work. Sora and I did our homework, ate dinner, and watched TV until bedtime. Cloud came home at one point but didn't even acknowledge us as he passed us in the living room.

"Do you think Cloud is mad at us?" Sora asked me as we sat in our room, too early to sleep but getting ready.

"He seems mad at everything all the time." I muttered.

"I get the feeling like he doesn't want us to be here," Sora whispered as if Cloud were right outside our door.

"I don't care what he wants, we're here so sucks for him." I rolled my eyes at the possibility of Sora being right.

"It'd be easier to adjust if we felt welcomed." Sora said as I realized that perhaps I didn't take into consideration how he felt about Cloud's negativity.

"He's probably just jealous that we're still dating when he and Leon broke up."

"You think so?" Sora asked and I shrugged.

"Could be. Either way, as long as we have each other, we'll be fine." I encouraged my twin before we went to bed.

The next day at school went much differently than I had expected. Seifer showed up, but he too was playing the game strategically and he kept his distance. He eyed me continually, and once again I insisted that I walk Sora to each and every class. I wanted to find an opportunity to single Seifer out and show him what I'm capable of, but he never went anywhere without two of his main posse members. I even debated beating up those two as well, but in the end, I decided to play it smart. I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd get Seifer alone, and like a game of chess, strategy is key. I had to be patient to be victorious, but it wasn't easy. I wanted to kill him with my glare alone, and I did my best to make him feel as guilty and as threatened as possible. He ignored me for the most part, keeping his eyes on Sora, who commented several times throughout the day that he felt awkward and that he wanted to go home. I reminded him that we only had a few more hours left, but the impact that Seifers silent threat had on him really seemed to wear him down.

I expected things to change completely by the next day, but no. All through Friday, Seifer remained in the background just using his presence as a scare tactic. It really bothered Sora, and I could tell that each day that passed only made him more and more frightened. It was like a ticking time bomb, watching the way that Seifer kept his eyes glued on my twin, as if to promise a second encounter. By the time that Friday came, Sora was beyond paranoid.

"I can't take it anymore, Roxy," he whined as I tried to work out a plan. I had told myself that by Monday, if Seifer hadn't made a move, then I would have to make it for him.

"It's strange how he hasn't said or done anything." I wondered to myself.

"I feel like anywhere I go, I'm not safe. I feel like it's only a matter of time until he attacks me again and I can't take it." Sora looked like he was about to cry as we sat at home alone.

"Maybe he's just a one hit wonder?" Even I couldn't believe that, but Sora needed some sort of positivity.

"What if he stalks me until the last day of school and then he beats and rapes me?" Sora looked like he was about to have a heart attack as I felt like I had been slapped by the possibility of that actually happening.

"Shit," I thought to myself. Even I couldn't lie to him and say that that would never happen. Just in time, Cloud came home.

"What are you two doing?" Cloud asked as he saw us sitting on the couch after the awkward silence that followed our conversation.

"Just talking." I shrugged, hoping to change the mood of everything that Sora and I had been talking about.

"Well I want to watch TV, so go upstairs and talk in your room." Cloud ordered as Sora cleared his throat.

"Can we watch TV with you?" He asked and I smiled at the way that Sora had tried to stay positive.

"If you promise not to talk." Cloud grunted.

"Oh," Sora seemed a bit sad, and it bothered me.

"Why do you have to be such a dickwad?" I shook my head at my older brother.

"A what?" Cloud turned his head to face me as I stood up.

"You're such a fucking shitbag! He's had a rough week at school and just wants to watch TV with you cause you're his older brother, and you respond by being a shitface brother."

"Look whatever drama you two are having at school is all your fault so don't blame me for your stupidity!"

"My fault!?" I stood up as I screamed at him. "Just because you aren't strong enough to keep Leon doesn't mean you have to blame him, or me!" I yelled as Cloud's eyes went wide.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about what happened, so don't think you do! You're just as ignorant as Leon, you dumb fuck!" Cloud stood up too.

"Excuse me?!" We all turned to see Leon in the doorway. Great, now it was a yelling party.

"Look what you did!" Cloud turned to me as I was about ready to lose it.

"Oh my fucking, you know what?" I couldn't even finish my sentences. "You're a real shitshow, you know? I have no idea why Leon finds anything in you! You're a sad pathetic excuse of a miserable and bitter sack of shit!" I became creative with my insults. "You can't even take responsibility for your own failures!"

"Me? A failure? The only failure in this room is you two!" Cloud pointed to Sora and I, causing me to look to Sora, who had tears in his eyes.

"That is enough!" Leon's voice boomed as he yanked Cloud by the arm roughly. "Apologize! Do it now!" Leon commanded as Cloud's face was coated with fear.

"I'm sorry." Even Cloud could feel the severity of Leon's anger.

"All of you to your rooms. GO!" Leon shoved Cloud roughly and started walking towards me as I snatched Sora's hand and bolted up the stairs. Sora and I went in our room and I shut the door behind me, as if I expected it to keep my eldest brother out.

"You okay?" I looked to my twin, who nodded despite the tears swimming in his eyes. He sniffled as he gulped and I was so angered by the devastation on his face that I was about to go find Cloud and kick his ass, or at least try to.

"Sora," Leon entered our room and shut the door behind him. "Sora, you okay?"

My twin said nothing as he looked away.

"Tell me you aren't letting Cloud get away with what he said." I folded my arms in front of my chest.

"I will deal with him once I'm sure you two are okay." Leon didn't even look at me.

"I won't be okay until you deal with him." I growled.

"Would you knock it off? I'm trying to help Sora, no thanks to you."

"Me? You can't seriously be taking Cloud's side on this!" I became angered all over again.

"I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm trying to glue both sides together and make one family." Leon said calmly, causing me to actually think.

"I just don't want Cloud to hate me, or Roxy." Sora said shyly as I frowned.

"He doesn't hate you two. He's just, he's still dealing with the shit from dad, and that's not your fault, do you hear me?" Leon made it clear and I was glad to have his help.

"Kay." Sora agreed, but I could tell he didn't believe Leon's words.

"Alright, I'll be back. For now, just stay in here and I'm going to go get some burgers. I might even go get some desert," Leon smiled. "I was thinking we could rent a movie? Watch it on the couch tonight? It is the weekend after all." My big brother ran his fingers through his hair as I nodded, for Sora's sake.

"I hear that one actor came out in that new movie, it's supposed to be super funny." I said, hoping it'd cheer us all up.

"Oh yeah!" Leon snapped his fingers. "It got great reviews." Leon and I both looked to Sora, but he kept his back to us. "I'll be back soon." He said before he left.

"Sora?" I walked up to my twin and put my hand on his shoulder.

"This is so hard." Sora frowned. "Between Cloud, dad, and Seifer. I can't handle it all." Sora shook his head.

"Cloud didn't mean it."

"Dad did. So did Seifer."

"Dad's a dumbass. And Seifer is going to get his, I promise."

"Why Roxy?" Sora sniffled as I looked away, unable to face such innocent sorrow. "I don't get it," Sora pouted with a pain I couldn't acknowledge.

"I don't know," I whispered, unsure of what to say or do.

"Why were we never good enough? What's wrong with me?" Sora seemed genuinely concerned and curious as I looked at him with confusion.

"Sora, nothing is wrong with you." I felt like I couldn't say it enough.

"Then why does no one want me?" Sora bit his lip, holding back tears as I let out a sigh. Sora can't handle rejection, not after what our dad did to us.

"It's not you, or me," I explained, afraid of the words that I knew I was about to say; the words I needed to say. "It's us."

"Us?" Sora tilted his head, so naïve and lost.

"Being gay is bad enough here, but to be related on top of it, I don't see how it could get much worse." I sighed in annoyance.

"But that's not our fault!" Sora whined.

"I know, but we have to accept our fate in our circumstances, or change our circumstances." I shrugged; it was so simple yet so difficult.

"Our circumstances?" I could tell that Sora wasn't following, but only because he knew better than to try to understand the unfortunate news I was hinting at.

"Sora I can't do this anymore," I decided to cut the bullshit and just admit it all. That talk with Leon all came back in one thought and I realized what I needed to do. I love Sora, maybe enough to let him go.

"Do what? Are we, are we moving back?" Sora was clearly in denial.

"No, Sora, mom doesn't want us either!" I yelled angrily. The idea of my planned actions was getting to me, and in my hatred of myself, I took it out on Sora.

"Roxy?" Sora whispered, his hand over his mouth in fear.

"Sora please, this isn't easy for me either." I put my hand on my forehead.

"What's going on?" His eyes leaked silently before I sighed.

"I'm breaking up with you," I muttered, unwilling to say it any louder or clearer.

"What?" Sora's shoulders started to quake as I looked away.

"We're through Sora. I'm done being the cause of your hurt." I tried to explain as best and simple as I could.

Sora chocked on the tears he tried to keep down in his throat before he reached for my hand. As badly as I wanted to take it, caress it, and kiss it, I pushed it away. If I planned on keeping him safe, I had to keep him away from me.

"Why doesn't anyone want me?" Sora asked with a pained look on his face before he ran downstairs. I only sighed, knowing that if I followed him, I'd be pitied into taking it all back, and then we'd be back where we started with the black eyes and bruises.

My body literally ached and I felt like puking from all the guilt and blame that I placed on myself. It seemed that no matter what I did, I would be losing Sora. To continue dating him would only put his safety in jeopardy, yet dumping him destroyed his entire emotional well being. I stayed in my room, hoping that I could make a deal with Cloud or Leon to switch rooms with one of them.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Wow okay so I feel like I've been gone for forever, the past few months have been heaven and hell all mixed into one giant mess. So as some of you may know from my profile, my ex is really upset that I'm leaving him and tried to deactivate my Fanfic account. He unposted all my stories (thank goodness for the Recovery button). He also got rid of my laptops so I lost ALL of my writing. Luckily I had most of it on USB's, but they were all quite outdated. So for about two months now I've been so down about losing so much writing (which is all my life) that it's been hard to write/post. BUT I just remembered that I had sent this story to one of my friends for advice on the plot not that long ago, so luckily I have almost all that I had originally written. Thank you all for your patience and support in following this story. Killing Loneliness is going to be delayed because I lost A LOT of writing on that story in particular.

 **Reader Responses:**

Xillia: Thank you so much! Reading your review really was amazing and uplifting and its incredibly encouraging to know that someone enjoys reading my stories. This story really is…a bit….dramatic to say the least; even for me, which is saying A LOT if you've read any of my other 50 stories. I'm hoping that now I have all of this story back on my laptop I'll be able to write often and update regularly. Thanks again for your lovely review and reader support!

The Dark Flair: I'm glad you see the conflict that I was really hoping to get across with Leon and Cloud, as if it's a reflection for what Sora and Roxas will inevitably face. YAY I'm also team Roxas, so I'll be rooting for him with you!

Thank you all once again for your patience and support with this story!

 **Living Legacy, Silent Sacrifice, Sarabellum**


	4. Without You I'm Alone

I distracted myself with homework for a good two hours before I realized that I had been all alone in the house, which I only found out when Leon returned.

"Where's Sora?" He asked after he came into my room to check on us.

"I thought he was downstairs." I didn't look up from my textbook.

"I told you two to stay upstairs."

"Yeah well he ran down." I shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "Where's Cloud?"

"He took off. Everything ok with you and Sora?" he asked and I shook my head.

"I dumped him." I was short, simple, and to the point.

"Damn," Leon whispered. "I better call Sora to make sure he's ok." Leon said and I nodded. "Sora? Where are you?" Leon asked after he waited a few rings on his cell phone. "Sora I know what happened, and I want to help. Tell me where you are. Sora I'm not asking you!" Leon became frustrated.

"If you yell at him he'll never tell you," I reminded my brother about how my twin worked.

"Ok, I'm sorry I yelled. It's getting late and you need to come home. Sora stop making this more difficult." Leon sighed as he put a hand to his temple. "Ok, why don't you talk to Roxas?" Leon extended me the phone, even after I waved my hands that it was a bad idea. He pushed his phone to me nonetheless so I rolled my eyes at him before I took the phone.

"Sora?" I asked timidly, hoping he hadn't hung up already, and yet, I was silently praying that he had.

"Roxy?" Sora sounded so tired.

"Sora please come back," Just hearing his voice made me want to apologize for everything. Hearing his pain, recognizing his sorrow was enough to make me want to take it all back.

"Do you love me?" Sora asked, his voice curious, yet not as troubled as it previously was. It was as if he was trying to know for sure, which only made me smile brokenly.

"Of course I do. I just, I can't live with the guilt of being the reason why you are hurting." I needed him to understand.

"Roxy I don't care. I'd rather hurt and be with you than be alone. Without you I'm alone. I love you Roxy." Sora's smile could be detected through the phone, and hearing him call me Roxy through his scratched voice made me want to attack his lips with my own.

"Please come back? We can eat dessert and watch that movie as one family. Please?" I repeated, not willing to discuss anything else. My head already hurt from all the thinking and the emotional burden weighing me down.

"I can't," Sora confessed, so I sighed.

"Sora please," I was about to beg, just to be done with all of the drama.

"No Roxy, I mean I can't. I don't know where I am." Sora sounded scared.

"You're lost?" I had to translate in my exhausted state.

"I started running and now I don't know where I am." Sora seemed like he was about to panic.

"Ok, it's ok. Leon and I will find you." I gulped, trying to sound sure of it.

"Promise?" Sora asked and I smiled.

"Yeah, I promise."

"Kay good, cause I don't like being alone outside. It's cold and getting dark."

"I'm going to give the phone back to Leon, since he knows the area more than we do. Tell him what you remember seeing, and maybe we can figure out where you are." I said, so Sora agreed.

"I love you Roxy," Sora was quick to say, but in my own heart, I just couldn't repeat the words. As badly as I wanted to, I knew that if I did, I would be that much closer to taking him back. I quickly handed the phone to my eldest brother and left for the bathroom, locking the door as I sat on the floor.

"Hey, you ready?" Leon tapped on the door.

"You know where he is?" I stood up and unlocked the door.

"I think I have an idea," Leon nodded.

"Alright, let's go." I ran with him into his car.

"I just hope his phone doesn't die." Leon tapped on the steering wheel with his thumbs nervously.

"Oh god! Do you think it will?" I panicked.

"Just calm down. I'm sure he's fine." Leon reassured me as we headed down some streets I had never seen before.

"Hurry." I tapped my foot impatiently.

"I'm going I'm going," Leon said as we turned down a new road.

"Wait slow down!" I tapped his arm, looking out my window to see a small boy sitting on the curb.

"Oh good," Leon applied the breaks steadily but even as the car continued moving, I jumped out. "Wait, no Roxas!" Leon scolded me but I ran up to Sora, who by then was looking at me, probably startled by Leon's loud voice.

"Roxy?" Sora stood up just in time as I tackled him for a hug.

"Shit don't run away like that again, you had me worried sick." I held onto him tightly.

"Why do you care? You let me go." Sora frowned as he stepped back.

"What? No, Sora," I wanted to reason but he shook his head and got in the back seat of the parked car. I returned to the passenger seat since my door was still open, and we started driving in silence.

"Sora, please be careful next time." Leon was cautious in his wording. Sora's like a bunny rabbit. Scare him once and he'll never forget it.

"Ok." Sora whispered. I wanted to apologize, but I figured it'd be better if we were alone for that, so I waited until we got back home.

"Leon, can I ask you something?" Sora looked to our older brother the second we stepped inside our house. Leon looked to me so I nodded and went upstairs, where I remained alone for over half an hour. I wanted to go downstairs and see what was taking Sora so long, but I didn't want to push him away by intruding.

And deep inside my mind, I was wondering what I should do. Should I take him back so that he can be happy, and hell, so that I can be happy? Or do I let him live a life without pain even though we're both hurt by it? I wanted to continue thinking when the door opened, so I sat up straight on our bed.

"Sora, I," I stopped short when Cloud walked in, clothed in his pajamas.

"He's sleeping with Leon." Cloud said bluntly before he got into the bed next to me.

"Wh-why?" I felt so sad, so hurt, so betrayed. Is this….is this how Sora felt when I dumped him?

"I don't know, and honestly, I just want to sleep." Cloud has always been one to only speak when absolutely necessary, so I just nodded, turned off the lights, and climbed into bed myself. So much for family movie night.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Ah, here we go, diving deeper into this story. This chapter is short but I'll do my best to update by next weekend; work has me gone for an entire week. Again, lost most of my writing so it's been a real struggle emotionally and mentally cause I can't remember everything I wrote for my other stories. Thanks as always for your patience and following!

 **Reader Responses:**

 **The Dark Flair** : I agree Roxas really has his hands tied, and yes Cloud was being a mega asshole, as he is for a bit but don't worry soon things will shift although not very drastically. This story is far from over I just have to figure out which direction I'm going to be taking it.

 **To StaggerCreek** : Thanks again, I always appreciate your reviews and especially the PM that you sent me. Leon forgot the burgers, sorry about that but he wants me to know if you want tomatoes or not on yours, also for two extra munny you can add cheese! Thank you I really appreciate the kind words and the support. It's been so rough and such a pain to deal with but I'm confident that the future holds bright promises and second chances. Your reviews are more than enough to put the happiest of smiles on my face and for that I am grateful. I hope you have an amazing day/night!

Lots of love to all my readers!

 **Living Legacy, Silent Sacrifice, Sarabellum**


	5. Better Brother Than You

The next day was thankfully a Saturday, but I made it a point to wake up early and wait downstairs watching TV quietly so that I could sneak a chance to talk to Sora.

Said brunette stumbled downstairs for a glass of water as he usually does, so I made sure to have one fresh with ice waiting for him.

"Here," I interrupted his walk to the fridge.

"Thanks," he whispered quietly.

"Sora, please, forgive me?" I didn't care what it'd take. I wanted my baby back.

"I do Roxas."

"Then, then why did you change rooms?" I asked, still a bit bothered.

"Cause," Sora clearly didn't want to talk about it and I knew that the only reason was because he didn't want to cry.

"I missed you." I was caving. I was falling for him all over again, because I could never stop loving him. Right away I panicked. Would we end up like Cloud and Leon? My own eyes watered at the idea.

"I'm sorry," Sora whispered, not even repeating the phrase I needed to hear.

"Sora," I whined. I was willing and ready to go on both knees, hands over head, clasped in desperation.

"I'm tired." He turned around and walked back upstairs. With a shake of the head, I followed, a bit bothered at how he went into Leon's room.

"Morning." Leon greeted as I nodded it back. Sora sat on the bed, next to our big brother, curling up at his side.

I could only watch with envy as I glared at Leon.

"Sora, why don't you," Leon started, but Sora wouldn't listen.

"I'm tired." He repeated, eyes closed. I continued to stare coldly at my older brother, hating how he put his arm around what's supposed to be mine.

"S-stop," I begged quietly.

"Roxas, not now." Leon warned but I wouldn't listen.

"Stop!" I yelled, not sure if I was yelling at Leon to let go of Sora, or if I was yelling at Sora to stop being so ….unlike Sora.

"Hey, shut up." Cloud walked in the room next, picking out clothes to wear from his closet.

"You shut up!" I yelled back.

"Roxas," Leon barked with Sora hiding safely at his side, but it was too late, I pissed Cloud off.

"Yeah? Who's going to make me?" Cloud grabbed my shirt and I was ready to hit him until Leon pulled us apart.

"I'm going to make both of you stop. Now." Leon was direct.

"If he wants to be a dumbass then let him learn from his own mistakes." Cloud huffed as he pushed himself away from Leon.

"Call me a dumbass one more time!" I dared him angrily, my adrenaline and rage at their maximum capacity.

"Silence." Leon said but Cloud was already smirking.

"I really do hope you get your dumbass kicked at school to knock out your pathetic pride. You could use a lesson to see how weak you really are." Cloud walked up to me as I gulped, not anticipating that he would actually try to hurt me.

"That is enough. Both of you." Leon put a hand on Cloud's chest.

"His damn fault. He thinks he's so cool, so strong." Cloud shook his head. "He doesn't know shit."

"You're shit!" I screamed. I was scared. Was, was he right?

"You little fucker," Cloud fisted a hand before Leon restrained him.

"Knock it off." He said sternly.

"I'll knock him out!" Cloud shouted.

"I'd like to see you try!" I got fed up with Cloud's threats.

"Cut it out!" Leon struggled as he and Cloud wrestled to both move towards or away from me.

"Let me go!" Cloud pushed Leon, who then yanked Cloud's arm forcefully.

"Alright I have had it!" Leon shouted so loudly, we all froze. "Don't you see we're already broken enough?!" His voice was strained as I swallowed in guilt. "When dad left I made a promise!" Leon pointed a stiff finger as I looked up at him in shock. He had never before mentioned dad, so I knew it must have been serious. Leon was the only one our dad loved, the only one who was actually granted permission to join dad when he left, but he turned it down because he wanted to help our mother take care of me and my brothers. I frowned, feeling pretty shitty before Leon continued. "I promised myself that I wouldn't abandon my family. That I would do whatever it took to keep you all safe, fed, and warm." Leon inhaled deep. "I never once asked dad or mom for help. But I am asking you all now." Leon sighed in an exhausted frustration. "Please, for the sake of whatever we have left," Leon shook his head. "Try to make it last?"

We were all silent, no doubt thinking, guilty, hurt, feeling insecure. I made eye contact with Cloud for a brief second before he looked away again.

"Sora," I looked over to my twin, who wasn't even looking in our direction. "Sora please," I was choking up. "I love you."

"Then why did you throw me away?" Sora asked, his voice raising.

"Because I wanted to protect you from hurting!" I explained loudly.

"Well you failed!" Sora screamed as I gulped. He sniffled before he rushed to his feet and out the door. I was about to chase him when Cloud put his hand on my chest.

"Let me," I started.

"Stop. Just give him a second." Cloud was so calm, it made me realize he was right. I looked up into Cloud's eyes as he looked at Leon, and I could see the hurt. Right away, I started crying. I didn't want to end up like those two, loving each other, but resenting each other all the same. I wept as I prayed that Sora and I could work things out, and to my surprise, Cloud held me.

I gripped his body tightly as I used his frame to get out all my aggression.

He exhaled loudly to clear the air before he spoke.

"This ends now. Leon, get Sora."

"But he," Leon tried to reason.

"The sooner the better." Cloud remained persistent.

"Alright," Leon nodded before he went downstairs. Cloud continued to hold me as Leon made his way back with my twin's wrist in his hand. "I'm not asking Sora. Come on." Leon led Sora to the bed to sit down.

Cloud gently let go of me as I stood still, waiting to see what was going to happen.

"Sit." Cloud instructed as he locked the bedroom door from the inside. I took a seat on the bed as we all looked to Cloud, no doubt curious to see what he had planned. "We're all going to sit here until we work this out." Cloud said, so Leon nodded.

"Alright,"

"Sora, talk to him." Cloud ordered dryly, obviously referring to me.

"I just want him to love me." Sora sniffled.

"I do!" I hated how he made it sound like I didn't.

"Then why did you try to get rid of me?" Sora asked, taking refuge in Leon's arms, making it clear that he didn't want to talk to me anymore, so I sighed. It got quiet when all of the sudden, Cloud cleared his throat as if something big were stuck in it.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly, and when the three of us looked up at him, his eyes were watering as they stared at Leon.

"C-Cloud?" Leon asked nervously, causing the blonde to look away, as if in shame.

"I'm sorry Leon." Cloud actually sniffled as I looked in disbelief.

"Oh Cloud," Leon let go of Sora and rushed to Cloud. He took him in his arms tightly as Cloud clung onto his body in return.

"I'm sorry," Cloud's voice was weak as his hands trembled up and down Leon's back.

"Shh, it's ok. It's ok Cloud." Leon nodded in comfort.

"I love you." Cloud whispered.

"I love you too." Leon smiled, causing me to smile in joy of the breakthrough that they were finally able to have.

"I was weak. I, I ran away." Cloud shook his head. "I never should have run away from you." Cloud shivered visibly.

"You're back now." Leon comforted him.

"I love you." Cloud repeated, causing Leon to smile wider than I had ever seen.

"I love you too." Leon repeated as he inhaled deeply.

I looked to Sora, who pouted with the most adorable plump lower lip that I had ever seen.

"Baby?" I bit my lip, wishing it were his.

Sora didn't say anything; instead, he opened his arms up like a hurt baby who wants to be picked up.

"Come here," I firmly gripped his back as I held him close.

"I love you Roxy."

"I love you too Sora. So damn much." I inhaled deeply.

"Let's uh, let's get some food for the boys." Leon looked to Cloud, pushing Cloud's crazy spikey hair out of his face.

"I'm not hungry." Cloud said plainly as I chuckled silently at his personality.

"The boys need to eat." Leon said quietly.

"But I'm not done." Cloud said as if it were important.

"Not done with what?" Leon wondered.

"Hugging you." Cloud said honestly with his arms still around Leon's back, just as Leon tightened his grip on Cloud's waist.

"How about we take a small break to feed ourselves, and then we pick up where we left off, ok?" Leon made an offer.

"Can't they feed themselves?" Cloud whined.

"Cloud," Leon said with the authority he always seems to possess.

"I'll call for pizza but I'm using your credit card." I said, looking at Cloud.

"Fine with me." Cloud shrugged before he leaned in, to my own surprise, as if he were going to kiss Leon on the lips!

"Cloud!" If there was anything more shocking at that moment than Cloud puckering for Leon, it was how Leon stopped him by taking a step back.

"What?" Cloud asked, in fear.

"Babe, I'm still with Rhinoa, and you're with Tifa. As much as I love you and want to be your one and only," Leon sighed, "We need to straighten things out with them first." Leon said as I nodded in the background. Right, Leon really is the perfect role model. He's loving enough to forgive Cloud, yet gentle and kind enough not to cheat on Rhinoa even though his heart lies with our brother.

"This is going to suck." Cloud whispered just loud enough to be heard.

"It's what's right." Leon said as if there were no other option.

"Ok." Cloud said before he reached for his phone in his pocket.

"What," Leon started.

"I'm breaking up with her." Cloud said as if it were obvious.

"Cloud," Leon shook his head. "Don't do it like this. Call her and ask to speak to her in person." Leon said as Cloud deleted his break up text.

"But that's even more awkward." Cloud pouted.

"She deserves more than a shitty break up text." Leon said.

"Fine." Cloud sighed loudly before he called his girlfriend. "Hello? Tifa? Can we talk? No it has to be in person. What? How, how did you know? Oh. Oh." Cloud was quiet for a while. "Yeah, you're right. How did you know that one? I see. I'm sorry. Kay. Yeah, you too. Bye." Cloud hung up as we all stared at him, wondering what had been said on the other line.

"Well?" Leon asked.

"I'm single so can we date now?" Cloud was always blunt. Leon gave a soft smile.

"I have to break up with Rhinoa. But, I thought you were going to break up with Tifa in person?" Leon wondered.

"She figured it out. She said I never used my cell phone before, so it had to be something big. She guessed that I was dumping her, for you." Cloud said as he gazed into Leon's eyes.

"She knew that much?"

"Well she went to high school with us." Cloud shrugged.

"She took it pretty well then, huh?" Leon folded his arms.

"Said she was waiting for me to go back to you."

"That's, awful." I couldn't help but chime in.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.

"She knew you were using her to get over Leon!" I stood up angrily.

"It was her idea." Cloud said as I blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

"She said that I could date her so no one would beat me up any more, and since her exgirlfriend Aerith was chasing after our other friend Zack, Tifa said she needed a distraction."

"Sounds, complicated." I scratched my head.

"Well Aerith asked Tifa back just last week so I guess the timing works out." Cloud shrugged.

"I wish things were that easy for me." Leon sighed. "I'm going to call Rhinoa. I'll meet with her tonight and try to make it fast." He said as he reached for his cell phone on his dresser.

"You aren't going to kiss her when you see her, are you?" Cloud asked like a possessive, nervous mess.

"Maybe on the cheek, out of sympathy." Leon shrugged.

"Oh, ok." Cloud said, clearly not satisfied as he stood up and aimed for the door, but Leon caught his arm.

"You left me, remember that." Leon said as I gulped, wondering if Leon had just shot himself in the foot.

"Yeah and I'm willing to take you back so you should act like you care." Cloud grunted as my eyes widened. So much for the restored love.

"What?!" Leon was just as horrified as I would have been. "I'm the one taking YOU back, or at least I was about to." Leon scoffed.

"About to?" Cloud looked confused.

"Why should I if you're going to act like a dick?" Leon asked.

"I'm not a dick!" Cloud fought back.

"You're single, that's for damn sure." Leon shook his head as I looked to Sora and sat by his side on Leon and Cloud's bed.

"What?" Cloud asked fearfully.

"Go ahead and get pizza, you can use the food munny in the kitchen drawer." Leon looked to me as I nodded silently.

"Where are you going?" Cloud asked as Leon opened the bedroom door.

"To go spend time with my girlfriend." Leon left as the rest of us remained in the uncomfortable silence.

"Ahem," I coughed after Sora's stomach made a loud noise.

"I'm hungry," Sora whispered as I nodded.

"Let's go call pizza. Cloud, you want any?" I asked just to try to move past the awkwardness. Cloud remained silent before he looked at me, and then shook his head. "Ok," I cleared my throat and led Sora downstairs. Once we reached the bottom I heard Cloud slam his bedroom door.

"Well, at least, at least we aren't fighting anymore." Sora tried to stay positive, so I smiled for him.

"It means the world to me, to have you back." I said as I got the number to call for pizza.

"Really?" Sora blushed.

"Well yeah, you are my world." I said, knowing it was cheesy, but knowing Sora would appreciate it.

"You're my world too Roxy." Sora hugged me as I dialed for pizza.

"Ok, twenty minutes. Can your tummy wait that long?" I teased Sora's stomach with my anxious hands after I hung up the phone.

"I don't know." Sora frowned. "I'm really hungry Roxy."

"Here, why I don't keep your mouth occupied." I whispered before I cupped his face and made out with him.

"M!" Sora moaned as he chased after my tongue, causing me to grin.

"Knock it off!" Cloud's voice seemed to have come from nowhere as he trudged into the kitchen.

"We're just kissing." I said innocently as he pushed between me and my twin to get to the fridge.

"I'm not blind." He retorted.

"Roxas already called for the pizza." Sora rubbed one of his arms, no doubt hurt by Cloud's lack of sensitivity. Cloud can be a bit too dry for the average human, but Sora requires extra care so between the two extreme's, it's no wonder they don't really bond much.

"I heard him on the phone. I'm not deaf either." Cloud kept his back to us as he looked through the fridge.

"He's just trying to help, no need to be a dick." I rolled my eyes as Sora bit his lip.

"What'd you call me?" Cloud slammed the fridge door to look at me as I gulped. Shit. What did I just start.

"Nothing." I shook my head. Usually I'd love to piss Cloud off just for the fun of it, but I was fed up with enough drama for one day.

"That's what I thought." Cloud huffed, boiling my anger as I tried to refrain.

"Do you want us to save pizza for you?" Sora offered, making me smile at just how gentle and kind hearted he is to be nice to Cloud even after Cloud had hurt his feelings.

"Do whatever you want." Cloud brushed past Sora, intentionally bumping shoulders roughly as Sora gulped with a step backwards from the impact.

"Ow," Sora whispered as I fisted my hands.

"Hey!" I shouted. Now he had done it.

"What?!" Cloud lashed around.

"What was that for?" I took another step closer to my older brother.

"You got a problem?" Cloud took a step closer to me, getting right in my face, much taller than I wanted to admit.

"Don't, don't hurt him." I tried to look brave.

"I'm just walking." He narrowed his eyes on mine, but I didn't fall for it.

"You don't have to be rude you know." I inhaled deep.

"Thanks for the tip." Cloud turned his back as I growled.

"I wish Leon were here; he's a better brother than you." I said, knowing that I was probably saying words harsher than I should have.

"Shut up!" Cloud whipped around to yell at me.

"Make me!" I got ready to fight as Sora put a hand on my bicep.

"Roxy stop!" he begged before Cloud rolled up a sleeve.

"I dare you Roxas. Say it again, and I will give you what you want." Cloud's voice had no bump, no doubt, no hesitation.

"I, I said make me." I trembled with unsure eyes before Cloud walked right up to me with no emotions in his eyes that were locked on mine. I cleared my throat and stepped away from Sora, aimed for Cloud, but was blocked before I took a hit straight to the nose. "Nyghya!" I rushed my hands to my face as I took several steps back.

"Roxas!" Sora screamed.

"I dare you. Say it again. Say it again!" Cloud shouted at me, making me angrier by the second.

I grabbed a textbook off of the kitchen table and faked a high aimed throw before I hurled it at Cloud's left thigh, grinning when it made impact and Cloud groaned in pain.

"You little," Cloud grabbed his thigh before he limped after me. I sprinted around the kitchen table before I stood on one side, and Cloud at the other. None of us moved as we each leaned from left to right, trying to figure out where the other was going to go. Blood was steadily leaking out of my nose as I looked to the stairs, hoping to reach my bedroom.

"Stop it!" Sora shouted before Cloud put both hands on the table and jumped over it.

"Shit!" I ran around but not fast enough. Before I knew it, Cloud had tackled me to the ground. "Ooof!" I fell face first, my nose feeling twice as heavy as before.

"Quit, kicking, me," Cloud mumbled as I rolled on my back and kicked as hard as I could in any direction.

"Get off of me!" I nailed him in the chest and stomach several times as we wrestled wildly on the floor.

"What the?" I heard Leon's voice but couldn't see much as Cloud and I began to tug on each other's hair.

"Make them stop!" Sora begged.

"Hey! Break it up!" Leon tugged on Cloud's torso as I continued to kick and punch and squirm.

"Let me go!" Cloud wriggled to break free of Leon's grasp.

"Get off!" I repeated as I aimed to kick Cloud once in for all in the face. I missed. Instead of hitting Cloud in the nose, hoping for payback, I nailed Leon in the jaw. "Fuck," I couldn't even make a sound as I saw Leon's face turn to the side. I didn't know he was going to throw Cloud off of me and then try to grab me next!

"Roxas!" Sora gasped as I paused on the floor in sheer panic.

"Go, to," Leon put a hand over his jaw, his eyes closed as he panted. "room," he huffed as I gulped, my eyes watering as I tried to figure out what had happened, what I had done, and what was going to happen next.

"But," I whispered, wishing I could apologize.

"Room!" Leon ordered loudly before he let out a shout of pain, his body tensing as he took uneasy breath's.

"Ok," I scrambled on my butt to get to my feet before I ran past Leon, Cloud, and Sora and upstairs. I dashed into my bedroom and into the bathroom to rinse out my nose for just a minute before Sora stood behind me with a black rag.

"Here, so you don't stain the towels." Sora whispered as he handed me the rag.

"Thanks," I whispered back as I took it and held it gently to my nose. "Ah!" I gritted my teeth at the pain.

"Shh, it's ok. Once we have some food I can give you some pain medicine." Sora rubbed my back gently.

"Thanks." I gulped before he ushered me to our bed. I sat down against the headboard with him at my side before we heard the doorbell go off.

"I should probably go get it since Leon's in his room and Cloud probably left." Sora hopped off the bed and returned minutes later with the full box of pizza.

"Is Leon ok?" I asked.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Sora reassured me as we ate silently for the most part.

"I'm sorry I started a fight with Cloud." I apologized to Sora, knowing he must have been bothered by my stupidity.

"It's ok." Sora said before he left and returned with pain meds for my nose.

"Where's Leon?" I had to ask.

"I don't know." Sora shrugged.

"Is he in his room?" I asked curiously.

"I said I don't know, ok?!" Sora snapped.

"Ok," I whispered. Sora shook his head before he showered by himself. I waited for him to finish before I quietly showered next and when I finished I saw him in bed, eyes closed, clearly awake, but trying to look asleep. I left him alone as I went to Leon's room, hoping to have a moment with him.

"Hello?" I knocked on the door and pushed it open.

"Shh," Leon held a gentle finger to his lips as I gulped. He was sitting up in bed with Cloud lying down at his side, holding our older brothers hips, crying.

I nodded as I prepared to shut the door.

"Wait," Leon called out as I obeyed. His jaw was bruised and Cloud was shirtless with a few bruises of his own, probably from my crazy kicks.

"Yes?" I asked as Cloud continued to cry without any noise into Leon's thigh.

"Come here," Leon whispered and patted the mattress by his side. I didn't hesitate for a second as I walked up to the bed and sat down where Leon had instructed. "Cloud," Leon rubbed our brother's bare back.

"I'm sorry," Cloud said without moving his face away from Leon's leg.

"I'm sorry too." I repeated. "I'm sorry." I looked up at Leon, staring at his jaw, feeling guilty.

"I'm sorry for leaving you, and for yelling. Did you eat dinner?" Leon asked and I nodded. "Are you still hungry?" He asked, being the parent we never had but always needed.

"No." I shook my head.

"Good. Brush your teeth, finish any homework, and get some sleep." He instructed calmly as he ran his fingers through Cloud's hair.

"Yes sir." I nodded and stood up. As I walked to the door I heard Leon shuffle in bed, and I paused just before exiting to turn around. "Should I turn off the light?" I asked, watching as Leon held Cloud in his arms, both lying down, chest to chest, Cloud still hiding his face.

"Yes please." Leon said. "Goodnight."

"Night." I echoed and returned to my bedroom.

I crawled into my bed and turned off my table lamp, hearing Sora snore lightly. Since he was asleep I figured I could hold him, so I put my arms around him and pulled him close. He fidgeted uneasily and whimpered as I did my best to soothe him.

"Shh, it's ok." I whispered. "I love you Sora." I said as quietly as I could. Sora's chest expanded and then deflated.

"I love you too." He said as I gulped. I didn't expect him to be awake, but I was thankful to hear his words back as I squeezed him tighter.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : I'm sorry it's been so long. Once again life has been crazy and I've been doing my best to keep up. Super excited for this story and I'm working on an Akuroku right now. I don't expect it to be very long like some of my other stories but I am hoping it holds up with what I have written so far. Once I get a bit more established I'll share the title. Hoping to post it sometime in the next month or so.

 **Reader Responses:**

The Dark Flair: Homeschooling would be a good option but with Leon working and Cloud busy with school, neither one of them have the time. Plus it would totally deflate the natural drama that my stories need to thrive lol. Thanks for the review I look forward to hearing from you soon!

 **Silent Sacrifice, Living Legacy, Sarabellum**


	6. A Bad Enough Day

When I woke up, I knew that it was going to be a rough day at school, but I didn't expect it to be half as bad as it turned out to be. Seifer seemed to be in an extra good mood, which naturally raised my suspicion. I told Sora not to leave any of his classes until I could get there to walk him to his next one, but when I went to get him for lunch, he wasn't there. I looked up and down the hall, anxious and getting worried because of it.

In the two weeks of being at the school, I hardly recognized anyone, even kids who I guessed were in some of my classes. The only ones I actually knew were Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Seifer. And Axel and Reno, but those two seemed to be in their own world where the rest of the school didn't exist. Oh how I envied them. I walked towards the spot where Sora and I eat lunch with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, but nothing. I walked back to his fourth period class, hoping maybe he left and then forgot to wait for me and went back. No luck. No sign of my twin anywhere. Instead, I saw Seifer. He was smiling and talking with his buddies, but I knew better than to hope for the best.

"Where is he?!" I walked straight up to Seifer, not even thinking about what he might say or do in retaliation.

"What?" He actually looked surprised, but I knew not to trust him.

"Where is he?" I repeated, this time forming a fist to show that I wasn't messing around.

"Who?" He actually took a step behind to distance himself from me.

"My twin you dipshit!" I was getting sick of wasting time.

"I have no idea." Seifer scoffed but I shook my head.

"I know you know! I know you did something to him! Where is he?" I was losing patience.

"I swear!" Seifer put his hands up in defense, but it only made me all the angrier.

"Seifer I swear you little shit," I was only getting started.

"I'm being serious!" Seifer was getting angry at the accusations, but it was nothing compared to my anger.

"Where is he?" I repeated, this time a bit more shaky in the voice.

"Dude, I told you already, I have no idea. I don't care about him anymore." Seifer shrugged, but I couldn't trust him to even give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Bullshit!"

"Roxas!" Seifer yelled, but he immediately calmed down. "Honestly, I don't give a shit about your brother. He's so gay I'm sure everyone wants to beat his ass, I'm not going to waste my time." He shrugged, and I didn't know if that made me feel better or worse.

"Just tell me where he is," I pleaded, sounding desperate.

"I. Have. No. Fucking. Idea!" Seifer screamed at me. I started to panic. What if he didn't know? What if another gang got to him first? Or what if he's lying and his buddies are doing all the dirty work for him.

"Sora," I whispered under my breath, doing everything I could to keep myself from losing it in front of Seifer, trying not to show the weakness that was clearly taking over me.

Seifer sighed loudly and put a hand to his head.

"Rai, Fujin, take two each and split up. Rai you check east, Fujin go north. Roxas and I will take west." Seifer ordered and his buddies immediately and silently went to work.

"What?" I asked, completely confused.

"You want to find him? Let's go." Seifer started walking.

"Why would you help me?" I knew there had to be a catch.

"Cause if someone is going to fuck up you and your twins life, it's going to be me." Seifer didn't slow down or stop to wait for me.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." I gulped, knowing it had to be a trap of some sort.

"Whatever you say. You aren't going to make any progress just standing there." He made a good point, so I ran after him to catch up as he left the hall. "Glad to see you change your mind." He smiled.

"Yeah, well, the only thing worse than you being alone with me is you alone with him." I glared at him, but he didn't say anything.

We searched empty classrooms and groups of students bunched together for lunch in the West side of the school, but there was no sign of Sora anywhere.

"Anything?" I asked as Seifer checked his phone, but he shook his heads.

"Rai just cleared east side. Fujin is almost done with the north section. We started in the south hall, so that's everywhere." Seifer stopped walking to think. "Do you think he went home by any chance? Or like to the nurse?"

"He'd text me, or call me." I said, verifying that my phone had no missed texts or calls, and no responses to the many messages I had been sending him this whole time.

"If he went to the nurse, maybe he didn't have a chance to tell you."

"Yeah but they'd notify my older brother, who'd go to me first to ask about it." I reasoned.

"Doesn't hurt to check." Seifer said, and as much as I hated it, he was right. We had exhausted every other location. We walked briskly to the nurses office, and I was relieved and horrified to see that Sora was there, bleeding from the nose and eyebrow.

"What the fuck?" I couldn't even hear my own words as I wanted to dart inside.

"Hang on," Seifer held me back, and I couldn't understand why.

"Let me go!" I hollered at him.

"Roxas, chill for just one second. She's not going to let you in until she's finished bandaging him up." Seifer said as we watched Sora through the window, though he didn't seem to even notice me.

The nurse stepped aside and went to the phone which is when Sora made eye contact with me. I walked up to the window, but he looked away. Why? I just wanted to help him. I just wanted to know who hurt him so I could protect him. Sora sat still with his back to me until the nurse returned and talked with him, but no matter how hard I tried to read her lips, I couldn't make anything out.

"Wonder what happened." Seifer thought aloud.

"I swear Seifer if I find out that you're behind this," I started, but Seifer interrupted.

"Don't you think if I was, I wouldn't lead you to him?" Seifer asked in annoyance just as my phone went off. As I predicted, it was Leon.

"Hey," I answered, my mind still running a mile a minute.

"What happened?"

"I have no idea," I didn't even know where to begin.

"Well I just got a call from the nurse that Sora was hurt."

"Yeah, I'm standing outside her office, but I have no idea what happened."

"Sora won't tell her either. And he wants me to pick him up but I'm at work."

"Can Cloud?" I asked, but Leon told me he was in class. "I can walk him home."

"Alright, I'll call the nurse back and let her know to excuse you two until I can get released early. Stay together and try to find out what happened."

"Will do." I said before Leon hung up.

"Any news?" Seifer asked, but I shook my head.

"I found him. I don't need you anymore." I glared at him.

"Damn, alright then," Seifer actually looked insulted as he turned and walked away. What was his plan? What was he working towards? I had so many questions but I couldn't be bothered by that right now when I had to focus on Sora and figure out who hurt him.

I walked into the nurses office and told her who I was and she let me in to see Sora.

"Hey, um, Leon said I can walk us home." I said quietly, and he nodded. I wanted to ask what happened, but I knew that wasn't the place. Sora didn't take my hand, didn't say a word, just followed me like he was in shock of some sort.

When we made it inside the house, I knew I was going to have to risk his comfort for answers.

"Sora, I can't help you if I don't know what happened." I tried to help him see where I was coming from, but he didn't respond. "Sora?" I wanted to get his full attention, but he wouldn't even give me that much. "Who did this to you? Where?" I just wanted those two answers, that's all I needed. "Sora, please?" I hated how hard it was to just get simple information from him. "Sora come on," I sighed in frustration. "Who hit you? Was it just one person?" I switched to yes or no questions, which worked, because Sora shook his head. "More than one?" He nodded. "More than two?" He nodded again. "More than three?" He shook his head. "Three people?" I wanted to be sure as he nodded once more. "Was it in that same bathroom as last time?" He shook his head. "Was it in a classroom?" Again, no. "In another bathroom?" Another no. "Outside?" I was running out of ideas, but just in time because Sora nodded. "Once lunch started?" I asked and he nodded yet again. "Who?" I wasn't about to run through the entire school roster listing names one by one, but Sora shook his head as if he didn't want to say anything. "Was it Seifer?" I had to at least confirm whether or not he was responsible, but to my surprise Sora shook his head. "Are you sure?" I couldn't believe him, but he nodded. "Was it Axel or Reno?" I was using the only few names I actually knew, but Sora eliminated the other twins as suspects. "Sora, you need to tell me who." I was starting to get annoyed.

"I don't know their names." Sora finally opened his mouth.

"What did they look like?" I asked, but Sora shrugged.

"Normal. Guys." He gave the most vague and unhelpful description ever.

"What did they say?" I asked, hoping maybe I could get a better clue using any hint possible.

"Not much. They grabbed my arms and rushed me outside by the dumpster. They just started beating me up, calling me names. But that was it. Once I stopped moving on the ground, they left." He said as I fumed with thoughts of revenge.

"Can you point them out? At school tomorrow?" I asked, but Sora shook his head.

"I didn't really get a good look. They grabbed me out of nowhere and one held my head down. Once we were outside they hit me really hard in the head, everything turned blurry."

"Fucking assholes." I sighed as I rubbed my temples, trying to figure out who would do this if not Seifer.

"Rox, I don't want to go back." Sora had tears in his eyes, and I could only nod.

"I'm so sorry baby." I held him and offered whatever encouragement I could.

"I can't go back there. I can't take this anymore." He sniffled, but I knew that was a decision that neither he or I could make. I texted Leon with as much detail as Sora had provided, but he, like me, knew it wasn't enough for anything to be done about it.

Cloud came home first, and Leon had informed him of the situation, so luckily he knew better than to ask too many questions and upset Sora all over again after I had worked so hard to distract him and keep him positive with a Disney movie playing in the living room.

"He alright?" Cloud asked me when he and I were alone in the kitchen, fixing popcorn and sodas.

"He will be. I just want to know who did this."

"Yeah, can't really file a complaint unless we know for certain."

"Fuck complaints, I'm going to fuck them up once I find out." I said, determined to follow through with the promise I had made to myself.

"Yeah, okay," Cloud laughed but I knew better than to start a fight with him when I needed to be there for Sora.

"Here," I walked back to the living room and handed him his cup of cherry flavored soda.

"Thanks," He didn't smile, but he was talking, and that was a start.

"Yeah." I sat down next to him when Cloud came out with the popcorn. Leon came home just before the movie ended and insisted on talking to Sora alone, so they went upstairs while Cloud demanded the remote.

"No more kiddie shit." He started searching horror movies.

"Sora can't watch scary movies, he gets nightmares." I said, knowing that it would be a terrible idea.

"What is he, five?" Cloud asked, but it only upset me.

"He's already had a bad enough day, don't you think?"

Cloud thought for a moment before he sighed. "Fine. But we're watching something meant for adults." He said, and I figured that was as much cooperation as I was going to get from him, so I agreed. He picked a sci-fi movie that I know would have absolutely no interest to Sora, but at least they wouldn't keep him up all night. I expected our brunette brothers to be back in a matter of minutes, but the movie finished before they did.

"Damn, almost two hours," I looked upstairs, wondering if I should go check on Sora.

"Could have watched that scary movie after all." Cloud glared at me as if it were my fault. He put it on and I was too distracted thinking about what Sora and Leon could be talking about to argue with him.

I couldn't fight the urge to go upstairs and figure out what was taking so long, so I stood outside Leon's door and tried to eavesdrop, but since they were both much more naturally quiet than me and Cloud, it was pointless. I gave up and went back downstairs, entertaining myself on my phone for the next ten minutes before Sora and Leon finally joined us again.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** Hey guys, I'll make this quick. I constantly feel so guilty for how long its taking me to post and how it probably seems like I gave up writing altogether. Luckily, that won't be the case anymore. I just finished all of my surgeries for the predictable future and will have lots of time to recover, so writing will be my priority. Thank you for not giving up on me or my stories. Lots of Love!  
Living Legacy, Silent Sacrifice, Sarabllum


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